NATURAL FERTILITY

Did you know that your general health affects your reproductive health?

Did you know that your nutritional status before you get pregnant can affect your fertility and the health of your baby?

Did you know that there are a number of things you can do to help improve your reproductive health and that this is known as preconception care?

Preconception Health Care

Fertility is a complex issue, involving both prospective parents. Conceiving a child is a very special event and for some a problematic one. Natural fertility management looks at the broader picture and all aspects of your health, identifying the cause to your difficulty in conception. Preconception care is an important part of your fertility and can improve your chances of conceiving as well as maintaining a healthy pregnancy. Preconception care aims to optimise the nutritional status and health of both parents before they try to conceive, profoundly improving your chances of a healthy, successful conception, pregnancy, birth and baby.

To use a metaphor: as any farmer knows you must till the soil, look after it well and provide the right nutrients for the seed to take root and flourish. Fertility in both the male and female is no different.

Causes of fertility complications

There are numerous effects on fertility, everyone is different but the bottom remains the health of the individual. One of the most important aspects of preconception care is nutrition. Research has indicated that a deficiency of certain vitamins and minerals is associated with an increased rate of:

Our preconception care program utilities the benefits of natural medicine, through herbal treatments, supplementation, dietary and life style advice, and timing techniques to overcome these complications and optimise not only your overall health but fertility and the health of the baby.

Treatment

Sperm can take up to 116 days to develop and mature, during which time they are vulnerable to damage. Likewise the egg takes approximately 100 days to mature before ovulation. Therefore 4 months of healthy living before conception will improve the quality of sperm, egg and pregnancy. Most couples are keen to conceive as quickly as possible. However, preconception care ensures all underlying causes are dealt with prior to conception attempts rather than seeking reasons after problems have occurred.

For women in their early thirties trying to conceive naturally, 4-8 months of naturopathic treatment is ideal.

Those in their later 30- 40’s, six months of treatment is recommended before turning to IVF.

Preconception health care isn’t a new idea

Many traditional societies practiced preconception health care, such as the Ancient Greeks and Romans whose conceiving couples abstained from alcohol prior to and during pregnancy due to its damaging effects on the foetus. Veterinarians, stock breeders and farmers all feed special diets to their animals prior to conception attempts.

Why is there renewed interest in this practice now?

Currently,

In Australia, one in six couples have problems conceiving

one woman in five will suffer a miscarriage

fertility problems affect one in three women over 35yrs of age

one in 25 males has a low sperm count and one in 35 is sterile

one baby in ten is born prematurely

one in thirty is born with a congenital defect

at least one child in every ten suffers from a learning or behavioural problem

one child in five suffers asthma

However, medical research has revealed that all these conditions are frequently preventable with preconception health care.

Also the chance of conceiving in an IVF cycle is on average around 30% (but varies due to individual circumstances). Preconception care and natural fertility management can increase the odds for couples undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures by as much as 47%.

ACUPUNCTURE AND FERTILITY

Whether you are seeking alternative therapies to aid fertility or looking for support during IVF or other fertility treatments, Acupuncture is a safe and effective means to achieve positive results when trying to conceive.

Acupuncture to support reproductive health is becoming an increasingly popular and successful form of fertility treatment, whether as an individual treatment or as a strong support to Western Fertility treatments.

According to traditional acupuncture theory, there are twelve energy channels called “meridians” running vertically along the length of the human body, each one linking to a specific organ. Health issues are caused by obstructed energy flow at certain points along the meridians. Acupuncture therapy stimulates meridian flow and harmonises the body’s energy to influence the health of both body and mind.

In order for fertility to be successful your body must be balanced. The energy of your body controls our development, ageing, and reproduction. While naturally the chances of fertility decreases with age, acupuncture treatments can strengthen your body’s energy and therefore improve your ability to conceive.

In our clinic, we believe Acupuncture treatments with the additional support of advice and supplements you can improve blood circulation throughout the body and help stimulate and balance the body’s hormones.

For women the ability to regulate blood flow to the ovaries and uterus and to lower stress levels is a key part of reproductive health. Acupuncture also be very effective at regulating a women’s endocrine system and subsequently her reproductive system. As her estrogen and progesterone levels become balanced, her uterus will prepare for implantation. Treatment can also improve the function of the ovaries, leading to better quality eggs and embryos. Along with sperm quality and motility, increasing the chances of conception.

Once your body is regulated, it’s common to also experience the alleviation of other conditions including menstrual disorders, PMS signs and symptoms, endometriosis and other sources of pain and discomfort.

A study done in Adelaide found that Fertility rates during embryo transfer can be doubled with the use of acupuncture.

Acupuncture has also been shown in several other studies to have significant advantages for In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatments. Surprisingly these studies have shown that the Acupuncture infertility treatments increased the successful rates of IVF treatment regardless of the age of the woman. Some people also believe that Acupuncture helps women to stay relaxed during stressful fertility treatments which can often enhance the success of the treatments.

Research suggests that IVF with Acupuncture increased the odds of ongoing pregnancy by 87% (according to ultrasound evidence of pregnancy at 12 weeks) and increased the odds of a live birth by 91% compared with IVF on its own.

Acupuncture and IVF – it is best to have a 6 week course of Acupuncture treatments prior to starting your IVF cycle, then continue treatments during the stimulation phase, on the day of embryo transfer, before and after the procedure if possible and one week after embryo transfer.

If you are trying to get pregnant naturally, we recommend Acupuncture treatments weekly for 3-4months.

When you do successfully become pregnant, continuing your acupuncture and naturopathy treatments will help to maintain and promote a healthier pregnancy.

Your practitioners

Please click on the photos below for more information on your practitioners.